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I am often asked, “How can I learn to sing harmony or parts?” Well, I want to give you some information about how to go about it. First, there isn’t an instant or quick way to develop this skill. I’m sure that is not what you wanted to hear. If I could come up with a way to help singers learn to sing parts instantly, I would be a very rich lady. But it takes a lot of hard work and not giving up to achieve this goal.

If you can read music, and you need to be able to if you are a singer, then read the notes when you have the music in front you. Try singing in your church choir standing by someone that sings the part you want to learn really well. This will help you hear the part as well as learn to read the notes and how they sound when they are on certain lines or spaces in the music. Over time you begin to develop your ear for the part.

If you don’t have the music available to you or you choose not to learn to read music, the best way to start out is to get someone to play your part on the piano and memorize the part. Then after a while try putting it together with the other parts and work at staying on your notes without getting onto the other singers notes. It will be difficult at first but it’s the only way you can train yourself to listen for your notes. As you continue to memorize your part, you will begin to automatically hear it after some time. Just how long it will take is up to the individual and how much time they spend at developing this skill.

Another way to work at hearing the different parts is to listen to your favorite group and try picking out the different parts and singing with only one part. This is a little more difficult because you can’t always pick out the individual parts on a recording due to the mixing of the project. They mix the project so that it is one complete sound and not four individual sounds. But if you are starting to hear your part better this can help you by letting you practice when your group is not with you.

You can also get a soloist recording and try singing your part along with them. Remember if you are trying to sing alto or baritone you sing below the lead singer and if you are trying to sing soprano or tenor your singing above the lead. Also, remember that singing parts and singing harmony is two different things. When you sing parts you sing the notes that are on a piece of music and they will move around with some very interesting intervals. But when you are singing harmony, you are harmonizing with the lead singer, or the person singing the melody line. You will be singing the same distance, or same interval, away from the lead singers note which gives you the harmonic sound or blending of the parts. Try this and see if that will help you.

I hope this will help some of you wanting to expand your talent and work on part singing. It will give your group more options if you are able to switch to another part. Try working on it and you will begin to develop your skills.

I am trying to update my mailing list and if there are any of my past students out there that reads this article please email me your address. And if there is anyone else that would like to be added to my personal mailing list you can email me as well at Please type, “Address for mailing list,” in the subject box and I will know to read it.

There will be a very exciting association you will want to hear about in the very near future that is for part time and weekend ministries only. So if you want to get the information first you need to be on my mailing list.

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